What is the difference between various spray foam insulation products?
Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at
12:37 am
I have an older home which needs insulation in the attic and under open porch areas.
I’ve heard about the spray foam insulation which is supposed to be more effective than the blown in type. Although the attic has the blown in type already it needs additional insulation. Does anyone have any knowledge about the different types and which would be best for my project? Also, is there somewhere that an individual can rent the equipment? Thank you.
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open cell and closed cell
open cell–regular sized bubbles and an r-value of 3.5 per inch
closed cell–small encapsulated bubbles and an r-value of 6-7.25 per inch depending on manufacturer. Tends to be more expensive per R unit. Material is MUCH more dense.
Talk to an insulation’s systems specialist to see which is more economical. Must be licensed to install the stuff. Also look into adding a radiant barrier to improve the attic efficiency.
The type of insulation that your talking about can only be done by a licensed contractor. It’s a two part chemical that’s mixed through a special sprayer nozzle. The foam chemicals are NOT sold to unlicensed people. There’s a lot of prep work and it’s a two person job.
You can choose between 2 part urethane spray foam insulation, which is a closed cell foam insulation that gets sprayed onto the underside of the roof deck: or Icynene, which is an open cell foam insulation that can be applies anywhere.
There are so many variables with insulation, that I would really need to know if your attic has walls or not, If the walls are finished or not, if the attic ceiling is finished or not, and if the attic floor is finished or not. And finally I would need to have some idea of your budget. The spray on foam insulation products tend to be very expensive. They are not a DIY product.
For your applications the most effective solution is Closed Cell spray foam. This will create a good air barrier, vapour barrier (even at only one inch) and has a high R value. To obtain this you will need to contact a specialist contractor that has the training and equipment needed to do the job right. Visit http://www.buildingscience.com and see the various research papers they post. For product/installers go to basf.com or walltite.com.
Open cell foam is less costly but is not nearly as good at stopping air movement and is not a vapour barrier.